Israel Matzav

Statement attributable to the Spokesman of the Secretary-General on violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan issued a statement today on "violence in Israel and the 'occupied Palestinian territory.'"If he's talking about Gaza, I'm not sure what he had in mind.

At Eye on the UN, Anne Bayefsky points out that

The Secretary General once again can't bring himself to use that central fact of international law called "self defense" --when it comes to Israel. He calls it "reprisals". He talks about "endanger[ing] the civilian population". He ignores the Geneva Conventions which do not grant immunity to military targets or terrorists using civilians as human shields. The Convention prohibits the disproportionate use of force, that is, an attack on a military target "which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life" when "excessive." The Convention is clear that the presence of "civilians shall not be used to render . . . areas immune from military operations. . . . in attempts to shield military objectives from attack." None of which is ever applied to Israel by Kofi Annan.

Here is Annan's statement:

The Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the continuation and intensification of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, including indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israel from Gaza, a suicide bombing last week, and major Israeli reprisal operations. [What occupied territory might that be? Israel unilaterally withdrew from surrendered Gaza to the 'Palestinians' in August. CiJ]

The Secretary-General calls on the Palestinian Authority to take a clear public stand against violence and to take firm measures against the perpetrators of rocket attacks and suicide bombings. [This won't happen. CiJ]

The Secretary-General calls on the Government of Israel to ensure that its responses are proportionate and do not endanger the civilian population. [So we should endanger our own civilian population instead? CiJ]

He asks both sides to act in conformity with international law, and to refrain from taking any steps which further escalate the violence.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:42 PM